THE STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF MEDITERRANEAN MAMMALS Compiled by Helen J. Temple and Annabelle Cuttelod AN E AN R R E IT MED The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ – Regional Assessment THE STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF MEDITERRANEAN MAMMALS Compiled by Helen J. Temple and Annabelle Cuttelod The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ – Regional Assessment The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN or other participating organizations, concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN or other participating organizations. Published by: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK Copyright: © 2009 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Red List logo: © 2008 Citation: Temple, H.J. and Cuttelod, A. (Compilers). 2009. The Status and Distribution of Mediterranean Mammals. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK : IUCN. vii+32pp. ISBN: 978-2-8317-1163-8 Cover design: Cambridge Publishers Cover photo: Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus © Antonio Rivas/P. Ex-situ Lince Ibérico All photographs used in this publication remain the property of the original copyright holder (see individual captions for details). Photographs should not be reproduced or used in other contexts without written permission from the copyright holder. Layout by: Cambridge Publishers Produced by: Cambridge Publishers Printed by: Labute Available from: IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), Publications Services, 28 Rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland, Tel: + 41 22 999 0000, Fax: + 44 22 999 0020, Email: [email protected], www.iucn.org/publications A catalogue of IUCN publications is also available. Printed in the United Kingdom. The text of this book is printed on 115 gsm environmentally-friendly paper. ii Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................................... iv Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................................... vi 1. Background .........................................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 The Mediterranean context ............................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Mediterranean mammals: diversity and endemism .........................................................................................................1 1.3 Species threatened status ................................................................................................................................................4 1.4 Objectives of the assessment ..........................................................................................................................................4 2. Assessment methodology ....................................................................................................................................................5 2.1 Global versus regional assessment ..................................................................................................................................5 2.2 Geographic scope ...........................................................................................................................................................5 2.3 Taxonomic scope ...........................................................................................................................................................5 2.4 Assessment protocol .......................................................................................................................................................6 2.5 Review workshop (2007) and evaluation of the assessments ..........................................................................................6 3. Results .................................................................................................................................................................................7 3.1 Threatened status of mammals .......................................................................................................................................7 3.2 Extinctions ....................................................................................................................................................................7 3.3 Status by taxonomic group.............................................................................................................................................7 3.4 Spatial distribution of species .........................................................................................................................................9 3.4.1 Species richness ...................................................................................................................................................9 3.4.2 Distribution of threatened species ........................................................................................................................9 3.4.3 Endemic species richness ..................................................................................................................................11 3.5 Major threats to terrestrial mammals in the Mediterranean ..........................................................................................11 3.6 Demographic trends ....................................................................................................................................................13 4. Discussion .........................................................................................................................................................................14 4.1 Status of Mediterranean mammals ...............................................................................................................................14 4.2 Extinctions ..................................................................................................................................................................14 4.3 Major threats to Mediterranean mammals ...................................................................................................................16 4.4 Protection of habitats and species in the Mediterranean ...............................................................................................17 4.5 Anthropochorous taxa and conservation priorities .......................................................................................................18 4.6 Conservation measures needed ....................................................................................................................................19 References ................................................................................................................................................................................22 Appendix 1. Red List status of Mediterranean Mammals ..........................................................................................................24 Appendix 2. Introduced species assessed as Not Applicable (NA) in the Mediterranean region .................................................31 Appendix 3. Methodology for spatial analyses ..........................................................................................................................32 iii Acknowledgements All of IUCN’s Red Listing processes rely on the willingness Hilton-Taylor, Caroline Pollock, Mike Hoffmann and Rami of scientists to contribute and pool their collective knowledge Salman provided guidance, encouragement, and good advice to make the most reliable estimates of species status. Without throughout the project. Mohamed Karmass, Andres Alcantara their enthusiastic commitment to species conservation, and Hugo Ruiz Lozano provided substantial assistance with this kind of regional overview would not be possible. A list financial management of the project. Vineet Katariya, Jim of all participating scientists can be found at the end of this Ragle, and Janice Chanson provided high-quality support on section, and the specific contribution of each scientist is GIS and database issues. Nieves Garcia helped to compile this fully acknowledged in each of the detailed individual species report and wrote the photograph captions. assessments. We would like to thank our host organization, the Civic This regional assessment of Mediterranean mammal species was Centre (Centro Cívico) of the Diputación de Málaga for their coordinated by Helen Temple (IUCN Species Programme) extensive help with logistical arrangements, for their warm and Annabelle Cuttelod (IUCN Centre for Mediterranean hospitality and for ensuring that the workshop ran smoothly. Cooperation). Dania